Fantastic Feasts and Where to Find Them: Improvised Tamagoyaki

Hello readers and welcome to yet another (late) post on Fantastic Feasts and Where to Find Them! Now with Thanksgiving having come and gone—along with the roasted turkey, mountains of stuffing, luscious rivers of gravy, etc. etc—what could one possibly eat to stave off hunger? Especially while marathoning Skyrim during those last precious hours of vacation?

Well, look no further than towards the (literally) golden standard for protein: the humble egg!

Egg-cellent

I’ll be honest, as much as I love Thanksgiving, as a cook it takes a lot out of me. At least within my family of serious foodies and cooks they expertly suck out all the joy of cooking, focusing instead any and all energies towards creating the perfect, idyllic all-American Thanksgiving feast. Ironic how a first generation immigrant family is so intent on keeping things as American as apple pie when it comes to Turkey Day dinner. Observe:

Stuffing and mashed taters, oh my!

Freshly carved roast beef ensures cold sandwiches for days

I don't think the pilgrims had freshly made pancit, but I'll be honest, they're missing out.

See this shameless plate of meat and meat, swimming in it's own juices and an extra helping of stuffing? Yeah. There's nothing to be ashamed of because it's a holiday. Fat does NOT exist on a holiday.

Creating this yearly dinner takes long hours, ranging from preparation at least a day or so before Thanksgiving to last minute shopping runs the second I get off the bus and step back into my house. A “Welcome back” would be nice, rather than a spatula waved in my face and a demand to “Get to work”; but oh well. I love my crazy, food-loving family (And all the access I get to high quality ingredients) really, I do.

Unfortunately, all of this holiday cheer cuts into valuable video game marathon time, a grave injustice in my humble opinion. I mean, what else does one do the weekend after Thanksgiving? Shopping? Spending time with friends and family?

Pff, of course not. They shout bears off of cliffs, or maybe attack Revelations (Like my brother), or break out the N64 and save a crumbling farm on the verge of foreclosure (Like me!).

The energy needed to successfully do all these things—and many more—usually relies on Thanksgiving leftovers. But you can only reheat cold turkey and roast beef for so long before it’s all bland, and dull, and a reminder of the time you’ve slaved away in the kitchen. No, you don’t want that, you want something fresh and exciting to the palette, while also something quick with minimum fuss.

And that’s where our hero, the egg, comes in.

There’s so many good things inside of eggs, and while it’s bad to overdose on your daily, eggy intake, there’s no other food quite like it. Eggs can be as simple or as complicated as you want it—fried, scrambled, poached, boiled—and they can taste like anything you want, too. They’re the perfect canvas to just about anything; they brighten up with a handful of fresh herbs, make the perfect accompaniment to crisp bacon …

… And in this really quick faux-tamagoyaki recipe, they soak up soy sauce and after being rolled around a bit, become light and fluffy, the perfect combination of taste and texture that is a speedy, welcome change to the recycled turkey parts.

Tamagoyaki is one of my favorite egg dishes, and it honestly deserves a post in of itself that lovingly details the PROPER way to make this Japanese dish, but we’re running out of time. And I need to get back to Kirkwall before the mage-templar debate blows it all to pieces, okay, so just a quick bite to eat that’s not too much fuss, but satisfying enough to keep me going just a few hours more.

Difficulty: Easy! Okay, so it’s going to look hard, but trust me, once you get the hang of it you’ll be making tamagoyaki in every pan you own to impress your parents, your significant other, your dog, etc. etc.

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

Salt

A bit of sugar

Some mirin

Some soy sauce, dark or light, whichever you have on hand

The cast of characters: Eggs, sugar, mirin, soy sauce, and salt. Mirin may be hard to come by, but if you can get your hands on it, it is an absolute must to add to the salty-sweetness of this dish.

*Note: There are no precise measurements because this is meant to be a “go-to” dish for easy, but somewhat impressive, cooking. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar, mirin, and soy sauce to your tastes.

Beat 'em up, but not too much.

Start by beating your eggs lightly so that they are just mixed together, be careful not to overbeat them.

Okay that might be a scary amount of oil, but you'll be needing it, trust me

Next heat up a pan with a bit of oil. Making this dish will work best in a small to medium pan, so don’t worry if you can’t get your hands on a square tamagoyaki pan(Like these); although I’m sure it would make this a little easier

Once the pan is heated, pour in one fourth of the egg mixture, turning the pan so that the egg coats the entire surface, let this cook until the top of the egg is just set and not runny.

And here is our egg roll (Pun NOT intended, believe me) pushed to the side of the pan

Next– and this is the fun part—using a fork or cooking chopsticks (If you’re fancy like that), roll the egg to one side of the pan. Don’t worry, it’s not as intimidating as it looks, just gently, but confidently, roll it up and to the side.

Our next layer of egg, make sure you lift the previous egg roll to let all that eggy goodness run underneath so that the two layers are connected.

Now add a little more oil and repeat the process, add another round of the egg mixture and swirl it around the pan; make sure it goes under the first egg roll to connect the two pieces

Let this layer set, then roll the whole egg together towards the opposite side of the pan

Now just rinse and repeat with the remaining egg mixture, rolling your egg layers back and forth

Plated and ready for cutting!

And voila! Now there is much protein to be had for further game marathoning! Now I know in anime, manga, and most restaurants the tamagoyaki comes out looking highlighter yellow… But don’t be discouraged by the browning; it might be that the pan was too hot, or it might be the soy sauce. Either way, it’s tasty and you need that protein; time’s ticking by and you’ve got (several) worlds to save before your Monday morning lecture.

Fenrir

A would-be anthropologist, writer, food historian, and professional glutton hoping to combine fandom with her love of food. Ever wondered what a nug tasted like? Is butterbeer alcoholic? If you've asked such questions and are already drooling at the thought of a big old plate of lembas bread, then you're in the right place

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Fenrir

A would-be anthropologist, writer, food historian, and professional glutton hoping to combine fandom with her love of food. Ever wondered what a nug tasted like? Is butterbeer alcoholic? If you've asked such questions and are already drooling at the thought of a big old plate of lembas bread, then you're in the right place